Mail-box.



I m-&

M. BLEICHNER.

MAIL BOX. 1,177,008 7 APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17, 1915. Patented Mar. 28,H [2 3! 52 5O 52 as 25 I I I. "i 2a m v r 'MBLEICHNER M.VBLEICHNER.

MAIL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-17,1915

Patented Mar. 28, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

'H llllll mmmtoz MBLFJCHNEH same. view taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 2,illus- .lVIATI-IIAS BLEICHNER, 0F OGILVIE, MINNESOTA.

MAIL-IBOX.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patgnted lwa 28, 191g Application filedFebruary 17, 1915. Serial No. 8,801.

To all whom 'itma a concern Be it known that I, MA IAsBLmcH- man, acitizen of the United States, residing at Ogilvie, in the countyofKanabec and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Mail- Boxes, of which thefollowing is a specification,reference being hadto the accompanying drawings. V 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in mail boxes andmore particularly to rural mail boxes, the-main object of the presentinvention being the provision of a mail box of this character havingmanually operated meanswhereby' the cover can be quickly and readilyopenedto gain access to the interior of the box and, at the sametime, a,portion of the box will be opened simultaneously with the cover.

Another object of the present invention is the provision ofa device ofthe above character which willpossess advantages in points of efficiencyand durability, is inexpensive to manufacture and, at the same time, issimple in construction and operation.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention, consists in thenovel features of construction,combination and arrangement of parts aswill be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in thespecification and claims. 7 I

In the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this application, Figure 1is a detail perspective view of a mail box constructed in accordancewith my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view of the Fig. 3is a longitudinal sectional trating the cover in its open position. Fig.4 is a detail bottom perspectiveview of the supporting bottom; -and Fig.5-is a detail perspective view of tlieupper edge of the rigid portion ofthe forward wall of the box, illustrating the yieldable flangeformedthereon. V

In carrying out my invention, I provide a support or standard 1, whichis provided with a central longitudinal bore 2, in which is arranged ametal casing 3 having at its upper edge an annular rib 4 adapted to bearupon the upper end of the base or support andmovably arranged within thecasing 3, is a hollow standard 5 which is securely held in anadjustedposition within the casing 3 by means of a, set screw 6 which ex tendsthrough therib 4 and engages the outer surface ofthe standard 5. Securedto the standard 5, is the bottom member 7 of my improved mail box. Thisbottom con sists of a flat piece of sheet metal rigidly connected at apoint adjacent one of its longitudinal edges to the standard 5 andprovided upon each edge thereof with an upstanding flange 8 and furtherprovided with what will be known as brace flanges 9 which are secured asat 10 to the under face of the bottom 7, said flanges extending fromeach corner of the bottom member 7 to the standard 5 and integrallyconnected therewith.

The body of my improved mail box which is generally indicated by thenumeral 11, is substantially rectangular in form and the end wallsthereof are out upon an angle so that the forward or front side wall ofthe box is considerably shorter than the rear or tending flanges 14 ofthe bottom 15 extend,

said bottom 15 being preferably the bottom of the mail box 11, while thebottom member 7 is merely a support or rest for the box. The box 1]. issecured to the supporting member 1 by means of the bolts 16 which extendthrough both the bottom members 7 and 15 and are provided upon theirlower edges with suitable nuts 17, whereby to securely retain the; box11 in position upon the supporting bottom 7.

The front side wall of the box 11 is provided with a movable section 18,the lower edge of which is hinged to the stationary portion of the frontwall, as shown at 19 and the ends of this movable-section 18 areprovided with rearwardly projectingfianges 20 which engage over theforward edges of each of the end walls to prevent any lateral movevidemeans for manually operating the cover,

to open the same, I provide a U-shaped crank shaft 22, the intermediateportion of which is movable within the loops-23 carried by the innerface of the cover 12. The ends of the shaft 22 are bent outwardly atright angles, as shown at 2st and extend through suitable bearingswithin the end walls of the box. Secured to the ends of the shaft 22upon the outer side of the box, are the connecting arms 25, saidconnecting arms having their outer ends bifurcated and adapted toreceive the ends of a U-shaped operating member 26, the ends of saidoperating member being pivotally connected by means of the bolts 26within the bifurcated ends of the arms 25. The intermediate portion ofthis operating member extends longitudinally across the front side ofthe box and is provided with a handle portion 27, whereby the endportions of the same may be readily reciprocated within the guides 28which are secured to the ends of the box 11. It will be noted that uponthe reciprocation of the end portions of the operating member 26, thearms 25 will be actuated to rotate the ends of the shaft 22 within thebearings in the end wall of the box and raise the cover 12 to its openposition. It will also be apparent that simultaneous with the opening ofthe cover, the movable wall 18 will drop outwardly, the same beingpressed out by means of the yieldable flange portion 29 formed integralwith the upper edge of the rigid portion of the forward wall. From thisit will be apparent that when the handle member 27 is grasped, and theend portions of the member '26 reciprocated, the cover 12 and themovablewall portion 18 will be opened simultaneously as the movable wall 18 isnormally retained in a closed position by means of the member 30 whichis carried by the operating member 26 and normally engages the outerface of the movable wall 18 to retain the same in a closed position, asclearly shown in Fig. 2.

Upon the top of the box I provide an indicator which will notify theowner of the box whether or not the mail-man has deposited any mailwithin the box and, at the same time, notify the mail-man that there ismail in the box to be collected. This indicator includes a U-shaped rod31, the ends of which are rotatably mounted within suitable bearings 32secured to the upper face of the cover 12. One end of the rod extendsoutwardly beyond the bearing and is bent upon itself to form a fingerloop 33 which can be readily engaged to rotate the ends of the rod 31and raise or lower the same. The intermediate portion of the frameformed by the rod 31, is provided with a metal plate 34 which can bepainted red or any other desirable color, so that it can be readilyseenby both the mail-man and the owner of the box.

. It will be apparent from the foregoing description, that I haveprovided a simple and durable mail box, whereby the cover and a portionof the front side thereof can be opened simultaneously by manuallyoperated means. From this it will be noted that by grasping the handlemember 27 and reciproeating the end portions of the operating member 26,the cover and movable portion of the front side wall will be openedsimultaneously, it being understood that the yieldable flange 29 willengage with theinner face of the movable portion 18 of the front sidewall, whereby to open the'sam'e simultaneously with the cover, so thatpersons removing mail from the box will not cut or scratch their handson the upper edge of the forward portion of the box.

My improved mail box, as herein shown and described, is extremely simplein construction and can be manufactured and placed upon the market at acomparatively low cost.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, itwill be obvious that various changes in the details of construction andin the proportions may be resorted to for successfully carrying myinvention into practice, without sacificing any of the novel features ordeparting from the scope of the invention, as defined by the appendedclaims.

Having thus described this invention,

what I desire to claim and secure by Letters tion in closed position,and a yieldable flange carried by the body and normally bearing againstsaid hinged portion, the U-shaped member being adapted to be manuallyoperated whereby to open the cover and release the hinged portion, theyieldable flange forcing the hinged portion outwardly so that both thecover and hinged portion Will be opened simultaneously.

2. A mail box including a body, a movable cover therefor, a shaftcarried by the body and provided with a crank portion having looseconnection with the cover, a U-shaped member carried by the body, meansforming connection between the ends of the U-shaped member and theshaft, a handle carried by the U-shaped member, a hinged portion on oneside of the body, a yieldable flange normally bearing outwardly uponsaidhinged pcrtion, and a handle member carriedby the U-shaped memberwhereby the same may be reciproeated to open the-coverand release thehinged portion so that the latter. may move to its open position. 7

3. A mail box including a body having a movable top and side wall, saidside wall being supported in its closed position by the top when thelatter is closed, and manually operable means for moving the top to openposition and releasing said side wall, said means including arectilinearly movable element adapted to constitute a support for themovable side Wall and limit its movement to open position.

4. A mail box including a standard, a hollow standard adjustable withrespect to the first standard, a bottom member carried by the secondstandard, and having upturned flanges, a body having its side and endwalls bent upon themselves at their lower edges to form channels, asecond bottom having down-turned flanges adapted for engagement withinthe channels formed by the up-turned flanges, a movable cover for thebody, and means for simultaneously opening and closing the cover on oneside of the body.

5. A mail box including a body having a movable top and side wall,manually operable means for moving the top to its open positionincluding a rectilinearly movable element which acts to sustain the sidewall in its closed position when the top is closed, and means urging themovable side wall to its open position when said element is operated tomove the top to open position.

6. A mail box including a body having a movable top and side wall, saidside wall being held against outward movement by the top when the latteris closed, manually operable means for moving the top to open positionincluding a member arranged within the box and slidably connected to theunder side of said top, and a rectilinearly movable element extendinglongitudinally of the side wall exteriorly thereof, and means acting tourge the movable side wall to open position when said element isoperated to open the top of the box, said element constituting a supportfor said side wall and limiting its movement to open position.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aiiix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

MATH. BLEICHNER. Witnesses 'O. N. BAHR, C. M. WALL.

Copies of this patent may he obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

